serpent

Meaning

Noun

1. (literary) A snake, especially a large or dangerous one.
2. (figuratively) A subtle, treacherous, malicious person.
3. An obsolete wind instrument in the brass family, whose shape is suggestive of a snake (Wikipedia article).
4. A kind of firework with a serpentine motion.
5. A snake-like monster, such as a dragon or sea serpent.

Verb

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To wind or meander
2. (obsolete, transitive) To encircle.

Synonyms

snake

🐍

viper

adder

ophidian

dragon

🐉

reptile

big snake

python

large snake

cobra

king of snakes

King of Nagas

Naga

great Naga

anaconda

drake

monster

vermin

worm

🪱

wriggler

Snake

🐍

wyrm

naga

Translations

serpent

🐍

serpente

🐍

serpiente

🐍

Schlange

🐍

slang

🐍

serpente

φίδι

serpens

culebra

🐍

yılan

🐍

serpent

🐍

anguis

🐍

cobra

🐍

serpent

🐍

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsɜːpənt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: serpent

Cognate with Sanskrit: सर्प

Cognate with English: serpent

In summary

From Middle English serpent, from Old French serpent (“snake, serpent”), from Latin serpēns (“snake”), present active participle of serpere (“to creep, crawl”), from Proto-Italic *serpō, from Proto-Indo-European *serp-. In this sense, displaced native Old English nǣdre (“snake, serpent”), whence Modern English adder.
Compare Sanskrit सर्प (sarpa, “snake”), which is a descendant of the same Proto-Indo-European word as serpent.